Art
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#art history
#sculpture

Portia Munson, “Today Will Be Awesome” (2022), found pink objects, pink synthetic fabric and cloths, mannequin, salvaged round bar table, and deconstructed secretary desk/cabinet, 72 × 60 × 70 inches. Photo by JSP Art Photography, courtesy of P·P·O·W, New York. All images © the artists, courtesy of Phaidon, shared with permission

Celebrating more than 300 trailblazing artists, Great Women Sculptors, forthcoming from Phaidon, surveys half a millennium of remarkable work from the Renaissance to today. At more than 340 pages, the volume is organized alphabetically, aligning some of the best-known names from history with artists currently making waves.

Yayoi Kusama’s colorful polka dots, Portia Munson’s feminist found-object evocations, and Mária Bartuszová’s ethereal plaster forms are showcased alongside Louise Nevelson’s monumental constructions and Barbara Hepworth’s intimate stone silhouettes. Each artist is represented by an artwork key to their career and overall oeuvre, along with a bite-size introduction to their work and its significance in the context of the ever-evolving art historical canon. If you’re a frequent Colossal reader, you’ll recognize others like Wangechi Mutu, Joana Vasconcelos, Simone Leigh, Rebecca Manson, Kiki Smith, and Tara Donovan.

Great Women Sculptors is slated for release on September 24, and you can pre-order your copy now in the Colossal Shop. You might also enjoy checking out other books in this series, including Great Women Painters and Great Women Artists.

Rebecca Manson, “Gale” (2021), porcelain, glaze, steel, adhesives, foam, hardware, enamel, and magnets, 88 × 68 × 72 inches. Photo by Lance Brewer

Holly Hendry, “Body Language” (2022), jesmonite, pigment, rock, steel, and paint, 40 3/4 × 30 1/4 × 6 7/8 inches. Photo by Todd-White Art Photography, courtesy of Stephen Friedman Gallery

Helen Escobedo, “Eclipse from the series Muros Dinámicos (Dynamic Walls)” (1968), lacquered wood, 79 1/8 × 29 7/8 × 28 3/4 inches. Photo by Ramiro Chaves, courtesy of Proyectos Monclova

Rana Begum, “No. 1048 Mesh” (2020, powder-coated galvanized mesh, 153 1/2 × 232 1/4 × 110 1/4 inches, courtesy of Begum Studio and Kate MacGarry Gallery

Nicole Eisenman, “Maker’s Muck” (2022), plaster, clay, seashell, etc., 103 1/4 × 120 × 155 1/4 inches. Photo by Thomas Barratt, courtesy of Anton Kern Gallery

Mária Bartuszová, “Untitled” (1985), plaster and string, 41 3/8 × 52 3/4 × 15 3/8 inches. Photo by Michael Brzezinski, courtesy of The Estate of Maria Bartuszová, Košice, and Alison Jacques, London

#art history
#sculpture

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